Dustin Rhoades, Virginia Blais, Janelle Mayer, and Darby Sinclair
PART 1
Diplomatic Relationships between Mexico and the United States from1960 and 2001.(G) A historical study
Images of women in Aisian history text books.(D) A content analysis
Relationship between student attendance and achievement in chemistryclass.(C) A correlational study
Number of single mothers collecting welfare in Taipei.(B) A survey
Daily activities of an operating room in a Nigerian hospital.(F) An ethnography
A comparison of the inquiry method and lecture method in teaching highschool biology.(A) a group comparison method
Changing impulsive behavior through the use of praise.(H) A single subject experiment
PART 2
General Research TypesAre the following Descriptive, associational or intervention research?
1. A study of the possible relationship that may exist between classsize and learning in remedial mathematics courses. Associational
2. A survey of the attitudes of parents in a large urban schooldistrict toward the advanced placement courses offered by thedistrict. Descriptive
3. A study designed to compare the effectiveness of two methods ofteaching spelling to first graders. Associational
4. An investigation by a researcher in an attempt to confirm thatabstract concepts can be taught to six year olds. Intervention
5. A historical study of highs school graduation requirements.Descriptive
6. A detailed ethnographic study of the daily activities of a teacherin an inner city high school. Descriptive
7. A comparison of inquiry and lecture methods of teaching 11th gradehistory. Intervention
8. A study designed to compare the attitudes of male and femalestudents toward chemistry. Associational
PART 3
Partnerships in Science Learning: Museum Outreach and ElementaryGifted EducationBy Leah M. Melber CSU, LA
Teachers in Bars: From Professional To Personal Self By Edward F.Pajak and Joseph J. Blasé, University of Georgia
When we discussed this article as a group, we debated over whether ornot it was an example of qualitative or quantitative research, as thearticle stated that it had both types of data. We felt that theactual research resembled an action research project; involving anintervention, a cycle of time for the intervention, etc. In short, wefelt that this type of research felt familiar to us in that it is whatwe tend do on a regular basis in our own classrooms and schools, makechanges to improve student learning. The quantitative datacollection, demonstrated in the 5-point Likert scale of the pre-/post-questionnaires, is not something we usually do when introducing a newprogram or method of teaching in our classrooms. That part of theresearch felt more formal and time consuming than the sort of data weusually collect, which might be student feedback or a qualitativetest, like the DAST used in this research. As far as the researchprocess is concerned, we felt this style of identifying a researchproblem, stating a research question, stating a hypothesis, andselecting a research design to be very realistic in our daily workenvironments. The researcher’s review of the literature reallyfocused on all aspects of the situation from the demographics of thestudent population cohort, to the attitudes towards science educationand the impact local informal institutions can have on scienceeducation. The research was thorough and used in a way to explain whythis avenue for intervention was chosen. While we find ourselvesdoing a lot of research when delving into reform in our ownclassrooms, it is usually informal and not recorded in written form.We do not usually connect the dots as thoroughly as this formalresearch did and tend to go by intuition a lot of the time. We findvalue in providing this type of data analysis and interpretation, butwonder how this type of quantitative research, as time consuming as itseems to be, would deter one of us from seeing a research projectthrough to the end. (How often would we jump into this type of formalresearch?)
Overall, as a group, we tend to feel more comfortable with aQualitative approach to research. We aren’t sure if this is becausewe are teachers and place a strong value on the personal interactionsand social observations and communication that naturally happens withQualitative research. Perhaps for teachers of math and science thereis a natural gravitational pull towards Quantitative research and dataanalysis. The other article that we were conceptually morecomfortable was “Teachers in Bars: From Professional to PersonalSelf.” This investigation that occurred over a three-month periodcollected data through participant observation and unstructured tape-recorded interviews. This descriptive type of research heavilyemphasized the in-depth description/interviews with a group. As agroup we felt that Qualitative research allows for the interpersonalconnections and in-depth understanding that perhaps is more nuancedand less “data-driven” than Quantitative research.
The ethnographic study that occurred through barroom observations,from the article “Teachers in Bars”, was not limited to a broadobservation with little focus or purpose. The inquiry was directed“toward understanding the relationship of the bar to the professionallives of teachers.” (Pajak, p. 165) In this study two phases of datacollection through interviews was completed and analyzed usingqualitative research criteria. What was probably most important aboutthis style of qualitative research is that the researchers were clearto point out that their conclusions were based on the group ofteachers who were interviewed and were “not necessarily representativeoff the larger population.” (Pajak, p. 165)
As a group we assert that there is strong value and importance inquantitative research and data analysis, however we tended to have apreference towards qualitative research.
PART 1
Diplomatic Relationships between Mexico and the United States from1960 and 2001.(G) A historical study
Images of women in Aisian history text books.(D) A content analysis
Relationship between student attendance and achievement in chemistryclass.(C) A correlational study
Number of single mothers collecting welfare in Taipei.(B) A survey
Daily activities of an operating room in a Nigerian hospital.(F) An ethnography
A comparison of the inquiry method and lecture method in teaching highschool biology.(A) a group comparison method
Changing impulsive behavior through the use of praise.(H) A single subject experiment
PART 2
General Research TypesAre the following Descriptive, associational or intervention research?
1. A study of the possible relationship that may exist between classsize and learning in remedial mathematics courses. Associational
2. A survey of the attitudes of parents in a large urban schooldistrict toward the advanced placement courses offered by thedistrict. Descriptive
3. A study designed to compare the effectiveness of two methods ofteaching spelling to first graders. Associational
4. An investigation by a researcher in an attempt to confirm thatabstract concepts can be taught to six year olds. Intervention
5. A historical study of highs school graduation requirements.Descriptive
6. A detailed ethnographic study of the daily activities of a teacherin an inner city high school. Descriptive
7. A comparison of inquiry and lecture methods of teaching 11th gradehistory. Intervention
8. A study designed to compare the attitudes of male and femalestudents toward chemistry. Associational
PART 3
Partnerships in Science Learning: Museum Outreach and ElementaryGifted EducationBy Leah M. Melber CSU, LA
Teachers in Bars: From Professional To Personal Self By Edward F.Pajak and Joseph J. Blasé, University of Georgia
When we discussed this article as a group, we debated over whether ornot it was an example of qualitative or quantitative research, as thearticle stated that it had both types of data. We felt that theactual research resembled an action research project; involving anintervention, a cycle of time for the intervention, etc. In short, wefelt that this type of research felt familiar to us in that it is whatwe tend do on a regular basis in our own classrooms and schools, makechanges to improve student learning. The quantitative datacollection, demonstrated in the 5-point Likert scale of the pre-/post-questionnaires, is not something we usually do when introducing a newprogram or method of teaching in our classrooms. That part of theresearch felt more formal and time consuming than the sort of data weusually collect, which might be student feedback or a qualitativetest, like the DAST used in this research. As far as the researchprocess is concerned, we felt this style of identifying a researchproblem, stating a research question, stating a hypothesis, andselecting a research design to be very realistic in our daily workenvironments. The researcher’s review of the literature reallyfocused on all aspects of the situation from the demographics of thestudent population cohort, to the attitudes towards science educationand the impact local informal institutions can have on scienceeducation. The research was thorough and used in a way to explain whythis avenue for intervention was chosen. While we find ourselvesdoing a lot of research when delving into reform in our ownclassrooms, it is usually informal and not recorded in written form.We do not usually connect the dots as thoroughly as this formalresearch did and tend to go by intuition a lot of the time. We findvalue in providing this type of data analysis and interpretation, butwonder how this type of quantitative research, as time consuming as itseems to be, would deter one of us from seeing a research projectthrough to the end. (How often would we jump into this type of formalresearch?)
Overall, as a group, we tend to feel more comfortable with aQualitative approach to research. We aren’t sure if this is becausewe are teachers and place a strong value on the personal interactionsand social observations and communication that naturally happens withQualitative research. Perhaps for teachers of math and science thereis a natural gravitational pull towards Quantitative research and dataanalysis. The other article that we were conceptually morecomfortable was “Teachers in Bars: From Professional to PersonalSelf.” This investigation that occurred over a three-month periodcollected data through participant observation and unstructured tape-recorded interviews. This descriptive type of research heavilyemphasized the in-depth description/interviews with a group. As agroup we felt that Qualitative research allows for the interpersonalconnections and in-depth understanding that perhaps is more nuancedand less “data-driven” than Quantitative research.
The ethnographic study that occurred through barroom observations,from the article “Teachers in Bars”, was not limited to a broadobservation with little focus or purpose. The inquiry was directed“toward understanding the relationship of the bar to the professionallives of teachers.” (Pajak, p. 165) In this study two phases of datacollection through interviews was completed and analyzed usingqualitative research criteria. What was probably most important aboutthis style of qualitative research is that the researchers were clearto point out that their conclusions were based on the group ofteachers who were interviewed and were “not necessarily representativeoff the larger population.” (Pajak, p. 165)
As a group we assert that there is strong value and importance inquantitative research and data analysis, however we tended to have apreference towards qualitative research.